Naw Zipporah Sein, a prominent political activist and a key figure in the Karen National Union (KNU) and the Karen Women’s Organization (KWO) died at age 69 of cancer on July 24 in Thailand, where she has lived since 1995.
“It is a great loss for the Karen people. I want to mention that throughout the peacemaking process, she was a very stable and strong leader whose approach was characterized by a focus on policy objectives,” Padoh Saw Taw Nee, the KNU spokesperson, told DVB.
Born in 1955, Naw Zipporah Sein has a life lived in the Karen revolution. Eight years before she was born, in 1947, the KNU was established. She rose through the ranks to become the first female leader to hold a significant position within an ethnic armed organization in Burma.
“The KNU acknowledges her as a heroine who dedicated her life to the revolution to liberate the Karen people and to serving the country and its people. May her legacy of courage and commitment continue to inspire us all,” the KNU stated.
Naw Zipporah Sein served as the general secretary of the KWO after it was founded in 1985. “We are heartbroken to lose her. She was a brave and wise woman,” the KWO stated.
Throughout her career, Naw Zipporah Sein received international recognition and awards for her work. She was recognized as one of the “1000 PeaceWomen” in 2005 by PeaceWomen Across the Globe, an organization promoting peace based in Switzerland.
In 2014, she was honored with a Peace Award, by the Women’s Organisations Network (WON) of Burma, which represents 30 organizations supporting community women’s groups in Burma.
She also led the KNU Concerned Group, which is a political organization primarily consisting of former senior KNU leaders, until her final days.
Her work during ceasefire negotiations between the Burma Army and ethnic armed organizations, which became the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) in 2015, was called pivotal by many.
Following the 2021 military coup, she expressed her sentiments that the NCA was null and void. “The Myanmar military staged the coup by taking out the civilian government which signed the NCA. So the Myanmar army officially violated [it],” Naw Zipporah Sein told DVB in 2021.
“She is a person who stands on the values of diversity and mutual recognition rather than prejudice of her own ethnicity,” Mi Sue Pwint, a member of the All Burma Students’ Democratic Front (ABSDF) told DVB.
“Zipporah had an incredible determination to promote equality for women and promote human rights generally within Karen society and in the national democracy movement,” the Burma Campaign UK posted to its social media account.
The National Unity Government(NUG), the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), and the Pa-O National Liberation Army (PNLA) have each issued messages of condolence to Naw Zipporah Sein’s family during her funeral in Thailand on July 27.
